Difficult Circumstances
by Wowcolo
Summary: What if something sparked between Katara and Zuko after defeating Azula? Would she choose to love Aang like she thought she did, or pursue her newfound attraction for Zuko? Zutara/Kataang R&R Suck at summaries :/ Rated for slight language. Chapter 3 up!
1. Hurt

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA…. But like everyone else, I wish I did.

Chapter One: Hurt

"_The greatest pain that comes from love is loving someone you can never have."_

Aang slowly pulled back from the kiss he had shared with Katara, and looked at her with a look of deep love and content on his face, but what he saw confused him. Katara had began to cry and faced away from Aang, guilt and disappointment manifest on her face.

"**Katara, wh-" **He was cut off by her running back towards the balcony door of the Jasmine Dragon, and quickly making her way out the front door into the streets of Ba Sing Se. Aang started to make his way after her, but as he made his way off of the balcony, he felt an ever so familiar over-protective hand slam him on the wall. Before Aang could do anything, Sokka spat out,

"**What did you do to my sister?" **

_**Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo**_

Katara ran as fast as she could through the streets of the upper ring, not caring where she was going, just wanting to get away from the tea shop, or rather Aang. Katara finally came to a stop in the front of the familiar house given to Team Avatar when they arrived in Ba Sing Se for the first time. Katara ran her fingers across the door before opening it to find an apparently empty house. _Good, _She thought to herself, hoping to find some time to herself to think. She thought about what had happened in the Jasmine Dragon, and more importantly, what had happened after defeating Azula.

_**-Flashback-**_

_ Katara ran over to Zuko and swiftly knelt and bended the water out of her water skin. She quickly bended the water over her hands and placed them on Zuko's abdomen and began to heal the wound, hoping she wasn't too late to save him. It worked. Zuko slowly opened his eyes, and with great effort smiled and said, __**"Thank you, Katara."**_

_Katara couldn't help but cry as she looked back down at Zuko, knowing her friend would be okay, and replied, __**"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."**__ And at that moment, Katara realized, that something clicked between them. Zuko had been there to help her find peace of mind and find her mother's killer. Zuko had been the one who had taken the lightning for her. This is someone who went out of their way to prove to her that they wanted to be her friend, and maybe something more (She now hoped). The only thing stopping her, was her now-distant feelings for Aang._

_**-End Flashback-**_

Katara continued to ponder over these conflicting feelings, and tried her best to find a way out of this. She spent so many months protecting and helping Aang, and yet now, she felt like she was the one who had ultimately brought him down. She had another problem though, she hadn't told Zuko or Aang about her newfound feelings. She also had no idea how or who to pick, and was afraid of losing either of them to heartbreak. And as she sat there, her answer walked through the door.

_**Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo**_

After finally getting Sokka to calm down, Aang explained what had happened exactly. **"And then she ran away… I'm as clueless as you, Sokka." **Aang said with a downcast look on his face. By this time, the rest of Team Avatar (excluding Katara, of course) had beome active in the conversation.

"**Did you say something about the way she looked?"**

"**Meh, she'll get over it."**

"**I'm bored."**

"**Are you SURE it wasn't you fault?"**

"**Would anyone like some more tea? It's Ginseng!"**

Zuko couldn't handle all of the commotion and questioning going on, so he quietly slipped out the front door, not drawing anyone attention. As the questions continued, Aang was becoming more and more nervous. He had just about enough until Toph decided to step in.

"**Would you all give him some damn space to breathe? If he says he doesn't know why Katara ran off, I'm sure Twinkle Toes DOESN'T KNOW!" **She crossed her arms and glared in the general direction of everyone questioning Aang, and smirked when she was aware that everyone had stopped talking. **"Now, I think Twinkle Toes should get off of his butt and go and find Katara, and make things right!" **More silence. "**Well, what are you waiting for? GO!" ** Aang didn't need to be told a third time. He jumped up and ran out the front door, headed in no particular direction, in search of Katara.

_**Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo**_

He checked in the local restaurants, the palace, and even the alleyways of the upper ring. It was beginning to get dark as he came out of a prestigious-looking hotel with no luck on finding Katara. Just as he was about to give up, he thought of one last place she could be. _She has to be there,_ he thought to himself as he changed his course one last time. Aang climbed on his glider and began heading for their house in the upper ring. Aang flew over the various houses in the area he thought his house was in, and quickly spotted the area Toph had blown off in eagerness to 'break some rules'. Aang descended and slowly walked up to the door and he thought he could make out some sniffling and choked sobs from a broken Katara. Aang brought his hand to the door, but quickly pulled back due to still being shaken from the last time he had seen Katara earlier at the tea shop. Aang finally built up some courage, laid his glider up against the outside wall, and slowly reached for the doorknob. Aang slowly opened the door to a pitch-black room. Aang firebended a small flame into his hand, and began his search for Katara in the dark room. It didn't take him long to spot the broken waterbender, and when he did, he was thoroughly surprised by what he saw.


	2. Heartbreak and a New Journey

Chapter Two: Disappointment & a New Journey

It had been three days since Aang had left Ba Sing Se, and he was now headed to the Western Air Temple, with what he had seen still stuck in his head. The idea of it all confused him. _Katara… with Zuko?, _Just thinking about the concept made Aang feel sick.

_**-Flashback-**_

_Aang POV:_

_It didn't take him long to spot the broken waterbender, and when he did, he was thoroughly surprised by what he saw. Katara was sitting on the floor, leaning back into the cross-legged form of an oh-so-familiar firebender. Zuko had his arms wrapped around the front of Katara, right at her waist, in a comforting manner. Katara on the other hand just looked up and Aang, and gave him a sorrowful look. The first thing Aang wanted to do was ask her what was wrong, until his head finally put the pieces together. He looked back at Zuko, who was wearing a guilty look on his face, and avoiding eye contact with Aang._

_**"Aang, I'-", **__Katara started, but Aang cut her off._

_**"I see.." **__Aang muttered, with a downcast look on his face. He briskly turned around to hide the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. Aang quickly walked out of the door and mounted his glider, and flew off._

_Zuko's POV:_

_When I first entered the house, I could hear Katara crying. When I spotted her I myself was surprised at the state she was in. She was sitting up against the wall, with tears flowing down her eyes… her beautiful blue eyes… _Wait, did I just think that? _He thought to himself. He quickly brushed this off and knelt down next to Katara._

_**"Katara? What's wrong?",**_ _Zuko asked with a hint of worry in his voice. He couldn't stand to see his friend like this._

_**"Zuko… I need to tell you something… It's sort of important…", **__she said as she choked back some sobs. _

_Zuko hesitated for a moment before replying, __**"What is it?" **_ What could possibly bring a waterbending master down like this?_ He thought to himself._

_**"Zuko.. Do you remember back when we defeated Azula earlier this week?" **__He nodded. __**"Well… When I was helping you up… I realized something… something that I should have told you right there and then… Zuko, I think I have grown closer to you… and I think… I might have feelings for you.." **__She looked up at him with confusion apparent on her face. It was obvious this was hard for her. Zuko looked down, then slowly nodded, then pulled her into a tight embrace. After they hugged, she laid back into Zuko's now cross-legged form._

_**"I thought you loved Aang?" **__He slowly began, trying to get off of the subject of her liking him._

_**"I did… and I think I still do, it's just now I think I'm starting to love you as well." **__ Katara closed her eyes and got comfortable with her current position._

_Zuko had just began to analyze what had been said when a familiar bald-headed Avatar illuminated the room with a flame from his hand._

_Aang POV:_

_After seeing Katara with Zuko, Aang had headed back to the tea shop and quickly packed his things, not saying anything to anyone. He had called Momo, mounted Appa, and was gone without a single word._

_**-End Flashback-**_

Since he speedy departure, Aang had tried to forget what he saw. He tried filling his mind with other things, such as his plans to restore the Air Temples to their former glory. He was heading to the Western Temple first, because he did not think he was ready to return to where Gyatso had been killed, and the Eastern and Northern Temples had Guru Pathik and the Mechanist to look after them for a while longer. It would take him a few days to arrive at the temple, so he decided to help any villages affected by the war on his way, and it just so happened he was flying over his first destination now.

** "Welcome, Avatar, the citizens of Sekitan are humbled to be in your presence.", **greeted the man Aang assumed to be the Mayor. Aang surveyed his surroundings, noticing an abandoned mine off in the distance, as well as many run-down shacks where people lived.

**"Hello, thank you for welcoming me into your village", **Aang said as he bowed. He hoped he was making a good first impression. **"Is there anything I could do to help you?" **Aang looked around at some semi-shocked expressions. _I guess it WOULD be a bit strange seeing the Avatar asking to help you, only a few days after defeating the most evil person on the planet._

The mayor was the first to recover from the mild shock, **"As you can see," **he gestured towards the abandoned coal mine in the distance, ** "our coal mine is currently not safe to enter. Coal is one of our main exports, and our town has suffered greatly due to the loss of income." **He had now redirected his hand to the Town Hall, which was surprisingly in worse shape than any of the houses Aang had noticed before. Aang had opened his glider, and was about to take off when the mayor called out to him, **"Avatar, please rest now, night is almost upon us. It will be easier if you are rested." **Aang hadn't noticed it had been sundown and silently nodded to himself. He kindly turned down the offers of being housed in various citizens' houses. He needed to be with Appa and Momo tonight, he still hadn't recovered from being jilted by Katara.

The villagers had scraped up what little they had, and prepared a dinner for the Avatar. Aang kindly accepted the food, and dumped the meat out as soon as they had left. There was a bowl of withered fruit, a salad with slightly yellow-tinged lettuce, and a waterskin filled with cloudy water. Aang sat down and leaned up against Appa as he picked up small mango from the fruit bowl and then pushed the rest towards the hungry-looking Momo and Appa. Momo sniffed the fruit and picked up an unidentifiable withered fruit and nibbled at it. His eyes grew wide and he spat it out while tossing the fruit off in the distance, all while chattering up a fit. **"Yeah, I don't like the food either buddy.", ** said Aang as he tossed his own fruit away from him and moved away from Appa. Appa just looked at the food, then devoured it all with one lick of his tongue. Aang went and gathered some twigs from the surrounding trees, which were also withered and skinny like everything else in this town. He placed them on the ground and bended a pit for the fire. After the fire was made, Aang returned to his spot on Appa and looked up at the night sky.

"**Katara…"**

That was the last thing he said before he drifted off into a deep and much needed sleep.


	3. Wake Up Call

**[A/N: Hey everybody! I'll be trying to upload a chapter day, though this coming week will be a bit hard because I'm working on a research paper that's due Friday. I promise I'll find time though! Check out my page and vote in the poll. –WC]**

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own Avatar:TLA etc… **

Chapter Three: Wake Up Call

_It was a cool Fall evening and the chairs and food had been set up in the Fire Lord's royal palace in preparation for the wedding. Aang was sitting in the back row, and he could see Sokka, Suki, Toph, and other familiar faces all seated looking up at the altar. That was when Aang noticed who was getting married, Katara and Zuko. Aang's eyes widened and he immediately tried to jump out of his seat, but he was stuck, only able to watch the horror of the girl he loved getting married to someone besides him._

_**"You may now kiss the bride."**__, The fire sage said. Then Zuko slowly pulled Katara into a deep kiss, and everyone cheered. Aang began screaming and struggling to get out of his chair._

**"Avatar Aang, wake up!"**

Aang bolted up and slowly opened his eyes, his mouth still open from screaming. _It was just a dream… Or was it?_ He thought to himself. That's when Aang noticed the worried look on the man in front of him. It was the mayor from yesterday.

**"Avatar, our village it's being attacked by a rogue firebender! Please, come help us!"** , the mayor was practically begging now.

_Katara…_He thought, still not completely over the shock of his nightmare. _No… No time to think about that Aang, these people need you!_ Aang gave the mayor a determined look and replied, **"I'm on it."**

Aang grabbed his staff and flew towards the center of the village. As he landed, he looked around, but saw no rogue firebenders. In fact, he saw no one.

**"Well, well. I guess I should be afraid now. I didn't know I would have to deal with the **_**Avatar.**_**" **Someone said in a sarcastic tone, surprising Aang. Aang twirled around and got into a defensive position, held his staff with both hands and extending it towards where the voice was coming from. At first Aang was confused, it appeared to just be a girl, around his age. She was about his height, with shoulder length brown hair and amber eyes. She wore a sleeveless dark red shirt with black trim where the material ended. Her pants were the same dark red as her shirt, and stopped just above her ankle.

**"I don't look like much do I?" **she said, maintaining a smirk on her face the whole time **"Well," **she gestured behind here. **"I am capable of much more than I appear." ** Aang noticed for the first time the piles of ash behind the mysterious rogue firebender. _Weren't there houses there yesterday_? Aang thought.

**"Who are you and why are you destroying innocent peoples' homes?"**, Aang asked angrily.

The girl sighed with a bored look on her face. **"Hasn't fighting this war taught you anything? I do this for the same reason you fight against it. I'm doing what I think is right. I will do what Phoenix King Ozai failed to do. That sad excuse for a prince may have retaken the Fire Nation by becoming Fire Lord, but he is far from controlling the nation."** All the while the young girl kept the same bored expression. She began shooting flames from the palms of her hands, igniting the houses in the space between her and Aang.

"**Stop!" **Aang demanded, but she pretended not to notice. That is when Aang finally snapped. He had lost Katara, and since then his life had felt like crap. Then this crazy firebender shows up to cause even more crap in his life. He wasn't going to take it anymore.

Aang vertically sliced his staff, creating an air wave that headed for the seemingly oblivious girl. To Aang's surprise and dismay, she easily stepped out of the way and continued shooting fire blasts at the houses. _ I have to stop her from destroying these houses._ He thought. As the rogue firebender released her next flame from her hand, it was met by an earth wall just before it came in contact with the house.

**"Hmm… Can't burn houses like that, now can I?"** she turned towards Aang and balled her fists. She punched one hand forward, and from it a large fireball flew towards Aang. He brought up an earth wall, but the fireball smashed right through it, and sent Aang tumbling backwards. Aang quickly regained his bearings and jumped to his feet and started on the offensive. He sliced time after time with his staff, sending powerful air waves at the girl, but she dodged each one of them. It was almost like she was playing with him.

**"Yawn." **She said with a bored look on her face. **"Oh, were you attacking me? I thought we were playing a game."** She taunted.

Aang was confused. Was his aim off? Was he getting rusty? No, couldn't be either of those. She's just _really_ agile. The girl began advancing towards Aang, dodging every air wave he sent at her. At one point he bent the earth over her foot, and she easily removed her foot from the embrace. When she finally reached Aang, she smiled. This caught him off guard, and as he was distracted she pushed him onto the ground and took his staff from his hand and pinned him by the neck.

She maintained her smile and said flirtatiously, **"My name's Kylie by the way. Oof!"** A block of earth jutted out of the ground and hit Kylie square in the head and sent her flying ten feet backwards. Aang looked up at the block of earth then back down at his hands. _Did I do that_? He wondered.

"**I thought you could use some help, Twinkle Toes." ,**said a familiar voice.

It took a second for Aang to comprehend what happened then he exclaimed, **"TOPH!"** By this time Kylie had recovered from her shock and was charging towards Toph.

"**Ahhhhh!", **as she was charging forward, she was met by block of earth, this time to the stomach. Aang quickly assisted Toph and they quickly had Kylie backed up against a wall.

**"Well… Looks like you've got me." **Kylie said with a defeated look on her face. She quickly glanced up and twirled around, engulfing herself in a pillar of flame. When it dissipated she was gone.

**"I can't feel her anywhere? How'd she do that?" **Toph said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

**"I don't know, Toph. I've only seen that happen once before, and it was when Master Jeong Jeong did it to escape from Zhao."**

** "Jeong Jeong? Wasn't he one of those old dudes who helped Iroh take back Ba Sing Se?"**

** "Yeah, one of the members of The Order of the White Lotus." **

After they searched around a bit for the mysterious firebender now known as Kylie, they started heading out of the village towards Appa. As they were leaving the village they were met by the mayor, who thanked him gratefully. Aang and Toph didn't talk the entire way back

**"So… What happened back there? She was toying with you until I saved your butt." **Toph questioned in attempt to start a conversation while helping pack up their belongings.

**"I guess… I just have a lot on my mind."**

** "Oh, you mean you're thinking about Kat-" **she was cut off by Aang.

** "And I don't want to talk about it either!" **Aang half-snapped at her.

Toph mumbled something about Aang being too emotional and became quiet after that. It wasn't until they had been flying for a while until Aang spoke up. **"Toph… I realized something back there…"**

** "What Aang?" **Toph asked curiously.

**"Before you arrived... Kylie mentioned something about doing what Ozai failed to do… We may have defeated Ozai, but this war is far from over."** Aang hung his head dejectedly after that.

Toph turned to Aang and gave him a serious look. **"Aang, you defeated one of the most powerful firebenders in the world, and on top of that, he had Sozin's Comet boosting his strength. If you did that, I'm sure you don't need to be worried about Kitty. Besides, you've got me, and I'll always be there to push you back up if you fall down."**

At that, Aang pulled Toph into a tight hug, and strangely, Toph allowed it.

** "Thanks Toph, I needed that." **He said, smiling for the first time in days. **"But Toph…"**

** "Yes Twinkle Toes?"**

** "Kitty?"** he asked with a confused look on his face.

**"Oh come on Twinkles, you should know by now, everyone I meet gets a nickname."** She said with a slight laugh.

**"Even the bad guys?"**

** "Especially the bad guys Twinkles, especially the bad guys."** Toph said with a yawn.

And with that, they both lay down on Appa's saddle and tried to get to sleep.

**[So how did you like this chapter? I thought I'd add an OC as the antagonist, seeing as Azula is locked up in jail, and I didn't want her to break out. Yet. –evil smile- Next chapter will most likely be a flashback chapter. Until then, read, review, and enjoy! –WC]**


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